CC BY 3.0 UnportedBalko, S.M.Kreer, T.Costanzo, P.J.Patten, T.E.Johner, A.Kuhl, T.L.Marques, C.M.2020-11-202020-11-202013https://doi.org/10.34657/4584https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/5955Polymer coatings are frequently used to provide repulsive forces between surfaces in solution. After 25 years of design and study, a quantitative model to explain and predict repulsion under strong compression is still lacking. Here, we combine experiments, simulations, and theory to study polymer coatings under high loads and demonstrate a validated model for the repulsive forces, proposing that this universal behavior can be predicted from the polymer solution properties.enghttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/620macrogolpolystyrenealgorithmarticlebulk densitychemical interactionchemical reaction kineticscompressiondispersiongeometrymaterial coatingmathematical computingmathematical modelosmotic pressurepredictionquantitative studysimulationsurface stressvalidation processAlgorithmsComputer SimulationFrictionModels, TheoreticalPolymersStress, MechanicalSurface PropertiesArticle